Defense department report details sequester impact

The Defense Department released a report April 15 that purports to show the negative effects of sequestration budget cuts to the military from FY 2015-19. The report fulfills Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's commitment to provide military readiness details based on the proposed cuts.

The report indicates sequester level budgets would result in force-level cuts across most of the military services.

Army active duty personnel numbers would be reduced to 420,000; and Marines would be dropped to 175,000.

Air Force would have to eliminate all KC-10 tankers and shrink its inventory of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including Global Hawk Block 40 and Predator fleets; and eliminating purchases of Reaper UAVs in FY 18-19.

The Navy would be forced to decommission six destroyers and retire an aircraft carrier - with associated air wing - reducing the fleet to 10.

Compared to plans under the FY15 budget, DOD would also buy 17 fewer F-35 Joint Strike Fighters beyond FY16. Eglin Air Force Base is home for F-35 multiple-service, and coalition, pilot and maintenance training.

DOD would also have to sharply cut smaller weapons programs, military construction - delaying quality-of-life projects such as family housing improvements and barracks recapitalization - and invest about $66 billion less in procurement and research funding.

The report noted that sequester-level budgets would worsen readiness shortfalls across the force and delay needed training for joint force operations.

Lawmaker proposes DOD civilian cuts

U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., has introduced the "Rebalance for an Effective Uniform and Civilian Employees" proposal in Congress that would mandate the Defense Department to reduce its civilian workforce by 15 percent over the next five years.

The House Budget Committee member's proposal (HR 4257) is an attempt to reduce budgetary woes that "will threaten our men and women in uniform," Calvert wrote in a commentary for the Defense One website.

From 2001-12, the active duty military grew 3.4 percent while DOD civilians were up 17 percent. Since the start of the Obama Administration in 2009, the DOD civilian workforce has grown nearly 18 percent.

There are 1.3 million active duty personnel and 770,000 DOD civilians today - a 1.79 ACDU-to-civilian ratio. In 2003, the ratio was 2.25.

That kind of growth, writes Calvert, will continue to create a significant DOD budgetary burden. It is what current and retired military leaders acknowledge needs to happen to preserve national security for the future, he claims.

Under the proposal, DOD would be required to be at (or below) an established cap of a 15 percent reduction for FYs 2021-25.

The proposal gives authority to the Defense Secretary to use voluntary separation incentive payments and voluntary early retirements to achieve the required reductions and give more weight to performance (versus tenure) factors of employees.

Air Force offers 15-year retirements

The Air Force has opened two FY 2014 force management application timelines for "Temporary Early Retirement Authority" and voluntary separation pay, Air Force Personnel Center officials released April 14.

The TERA eligibility, commonly referred to as a 15-year retirement, is based on updated matrices posted on the myPers.af.mil website and will apply to personnel with 15 and 20 years of active service. The TERA window is open now through May 13.

Eligible Airmen must apply through the Virtual Military Personnel Flight application on the myPers website. Those approved - not on deployment - must be retired by Sept. 1.

Compiled by Rod Duren

News Journal correspondent

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Defense department report details sequester impact

The Defense Department released a report April 15 that purports to show the negative effects of sequestration budget cuts to the military from FY 2015-19.